This invention relates to plastic containers and more particularly to a one-piece plastic container having a drain back feature.
In dispensing liquid from containers wherein only a portion of the contents of the container are used at any one time as is the case with many products such as liquid detergents and bleaches, the consumer is concerned with the messiness which occurs from drops of the liquid contents draining down the neck and side of the container upon completing of pouring. Thus, when a bottle having an upper neck is turned from its normal upright storage position to an inverted dispensing position and then back to its upright position, a few drops of such liquid will invariably drain down the outside of the neck of the container. A number of prior art container designs have disclosed various features for capturing such excess fluid and causing it to drain back into the container rather than drip down the neck and side. Among such prior art containers are ones disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,640,855; 4,671,421; and 4,550,862. Also pertinent are other types of dispensers cited as prior art in the above patents.
Each of the containers disclosed in the foregoing patents require either a multiplicity of pieces which are assembled in a post molding operation in order to provide a drain back feature or in the case of 4,640,855 a reshaping operation to reposition the spout. Thus, in addition to the closure for sealing the container, each of the containers disclosed in the above patents have a separately molded element affixed to the container which cooperates with some element or elements thereof to form a drain back feature. In contrast, the container of the present invention incorporates the drain back feature as an integral part of the container, formed during the container molding operation. The only other element required for a complete package is a closure for sealing the container. Among other advantages of the container of the present invention is that it is much more economical to produce than is a container requiring multiple pieces. Thus, in multiple-piece containers having self-draining features, separate molding operations are required for molding the individual elements and then a separate assembly operation is required to assemble the elements to form the self-draining container.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and novel one-piece self-draining container.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a self-draining container which can be molded on a single machine and which requires no assembly operations.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for forming a one-piece self-draining container.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a one-piece self-draining container which can be produced on any one of several different types of blow molding machines utilizing different methods of molding.
Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a package including a one-piece self-draining container and a closure for sealing such container.
Other objects of the invention will become obvious from the following description.